What is a Kingdom Entrepreneur?

My Story as a Kingdom Entrepreneur

A kingdom entrepreneur means more than just being a Christian business owner.

At the end of 2023, I was experiencing the lowest point of my entrepreneurial career. I was emotionally drained and financially. Owning and running my business didn’t sound fun anymore! I didn’t want to lead a team of people. Nor did I want to be responsible for being the family’s breadwinner. My husband worked in the business, but it was our only source of income that was paying the bills and it came to a point where it wasn’t even doing that anymore. The stress of being everything for everyone was starting to take a toll on my mental health and physical body. I didn’t want to carry that much responsibility anymore.

When God Spoke to Me

Sunday is my favorite day. I get to go to my favorite place in the world, my church. It’s where I rest and find hope even when there is none. That particular Sunday, the worship team sang, “Lay My Crowns Down” by Josh Baldwin. The words just flooded my heart and I felt convicted.

What crowns am I wearing with honor? Better yet, what crowns fell off, shattered to pieces and now I am trying to pick up the pieces without any success?

Immediately, my mind went to my team and finances. Let me take you back to a few months.

Losing Control

In the summer of 2023, two team members left without little to no notice. The hardest part was losing a friend in the process. If that was not enough to experience, in September 2023, our sales at all locations started dropping significantly. Our busiest season, which is during Christmas, didn’t go so well either. Financially and as a culture, we were hurting as a company.

My crown of financial stability fell. It was shattering before me. What I took pride in as a debt-free company, paying my bills, paying my family and never thinking twice about being short of money was no longer my success story. January 2024 was the last paycheck from my company to pay my family and I was in tears for weeks. I let the people who love me most down. I wasn’t able to support them anymore and it broke my heart.

Team members I loved and trusted most were leaving with no real explanation. I felt blind-sighted and lost. What did I do wrong as a leader? I treated them like family because that’s what I was, a family business. Instead, I got threatened to be sued and told that my Christian music was offensive. My crown of being a great boss just got tossed into the dumps.

What do I do now? Where do I go for help? How do I pick up the pieces and keep going?

Laying My Crown Down as a Kingdom Entrepreneur

This is when I knew it was time to lay my crowns down.

That Sunday morning, I asked God for forgiveness. I was wearing the wrong crowns of success and sharing the wrong story with people. The journey to make this change was going to be difficult, but I was ready.

For the last six months, I have been humbled by how the Lord showed up every day in my life and provided. It’s not the way I imagined though. Business didn’t pick up drastically and I didn’t have money to pay my family during this time either. Yet, it was through the many little things that happened along the way.

God Showed Up

I didn’t hide my struggles. When someone asked, “How’s business?” I told them the truth. It was not going well, our sales were down and we had some team issues. It’s amazing what telling the truth does.

When I told my friends the reality of my situation, they came to support me and they told their friends too. There was still no line out the door, but I had enough income to pay the team and catch up on some overdue bills. God showed me his love through His people and they were obvious!

My team didn’t get better in the last six months. I continued to lose more team members for the next few months.

When I started analyzing what my company needed to succeed and who was going to help me get there, certain individuals didn’t like it. I asked more questions from my team, created accountability around the actions of those people and things started to change. I started to see unhealthy patterns in certain team members that led to releasing them from their jobs. Those who were on board with me did the right thing even when I wasn’t watching.

Each step of the way, God taught me what I needed in my company and what was hurting it.

I can reflect now and see the way God showed up in the last six months in all these small moments.

God doesn’t want my achievements, awards, or my thousands. God wants my heart. He wants me to be in a relationship with him. That’s what He is after right now.

Kingdom Entrepreneur is about God and the connection with His people. It’s not about my success story or how much money the company makes. Although all of that is amazing and God wants to use those resources for His Kingdom. Before anything else, He wants to keep you and me close to Him.

I am not sure what the future holds and how many more crowns I need to lay down before the Lord. I do know one thing though. My journey is in the hands of the Lord.

As I write this blog, I am overcome with peace knowing that my Heavenly Father is in control and everything will be ok. Everything I have is Gods and for His glory. That is the crown I want to wear forever.

Kingdom Entrepreneur Reflection

Now it’s your turn to reflect on your story and journey as an entrepreneur. What crowns do you wear that takes you away from having a relationship with God? Are your thousands the only thing you are proud of currently? The blood, sweat and tears you put into building the company, do you take pride in those? When you share your story, is it about your achievements and certificates?

Everything you have to date is from Him and for Him. His Kingdom in your company has to be the number one goal and the crown you always wear.